This film's for the BMX bike racers of the world. A small town is out to raise funds by building a BMX racetrack and sponsoring a major race. They sponsor their own small-town hero Cru (Bill Allen) who's up against the big-monied… MoreThis film's for the BMX bike racers of the world. A small town is out to raise funds by building a BMX racetrack and sponsoring a major race. They sponsor their own small-town hero Cru (Bill Allen) who's up against the big-monied sponsor's champion Bart Taylor (played by Olympic gymnast-turned-actor, Bart Thomas). Bart's the bad guy here, who doesn't play by the rules. The film's highlights are found in the stunt-filled race sequences, where the two duel it out on their high-flying two wheelers.

Rad fits so snugly into Needham's oeuvre that it's unclear whether the movie is an excuse for the 8 minute BMX montage that opens Rad or he's just lazy about setting up the slobs vs. snobs beats in his 30 year-old-teenagers in high school magnum opus.

Any film calling itself Rad had best be taken with a grain of salt, regardless of its subject matter. As it happens, the subject matter of Rad constitutes probably the dorkiest storyline we've seen this year.